10 Best Hacks To Avoid Crying While Cutting Onions

Anyone who's ever cut many onions has eventually sought a hack to keep from crying while cutting them. No matter how hard you try not to cry, sometimes the waterworks still flow, making it impossible to see what you're doing and putting your fingers in peril. Understanding why they make you cry is the first step toward knowing which onion-cutting hacks might work.

Alliums are able to use their roots to pull sulfur from the soil and create lacrimator compounds. Then, when they're cut, the compounds mix with other enzymes to create a chemical cocktail called syn-propanethial-S-oxide as a defense mechanism to deter predators (including us) from eating them. When we cry while cutting onions, it's our body's way of washing these defensive chemicals out of our eyes. So, the trick to not crying is to do something to prevent these chemicals from making it to our eyes in the first place.

Some onions release fewer defensive chemicals into the air than others, so choosing sweeter ones, like Vidalias or green onions, instead of white or red onions, can help. So can using a freshly-sharpened knife, which cuts less surface area and takes less time for cutting than a dull knife. Of course, you can also wear goggles to eliminate the chance that any of these chemicals can trigger tears. Beyond these ordinary tips, there are lots of hacks out there for shedding fewer tears while cutting onions, focusing on lessening or diverting the onion's defensive chemicals.

Some people swear by getting onions really cold in the freezer to prevent crying while cutting them. A few minutes in the freezer (without freezing them solid) should slow down the chemical reaction between the lacrimator compounds and the enzymes long enough for you to get in there and cut the onions without too many tears.

The idea behind getting them super cold in the freezer is to prevent them from releasing as many volatile chemicals into the air when they're cut. If you decide to try this onion hack, we suggest starting with a really sharp knife, which we've already mentioned as being helpful in preventing tears. However, in this case, it will also make the job go faster since it can take longer to cut an onion with a dull knife. The trick here is to be able to cut the onion as quickly as possible while it's still chilled to prevent the onion from having time to release the same high levels of chemicals into the air.

While we've seen some people online experiment with this and have it not work for them, those who swear by it seem to be putting it in the freezer for longer. So, we suggest planning ahead and putting the onion in the freezer for 30 minutes rather than just 10 or 15 minutes. Just be sure to set a timer so you don't accidentally freeze them.

Instead of pre-freezing, you could also try keeping your onions in a bowl of ice water right until you start slicing. Just like with sticking the onion in the freezer first, storing it in cold water can help slow down the onion's ability to mix up its chemical weapon cocktail to send to your eyes.

The water for this onion hack needs to be icy. And timing seems essential for this method as well. You'll need to have the onion submerged in the icy water for at least 30 minutes for the chemical reaction to slow down enough to make a difference. Also, it's a good idea to peel the onion first because the cold needs to penetrate the surface. Once again, a sharp knife is going to be helpful in cutting it quickly before it has a chance to warm up again. However, the hack of simply using a wet knife doesn't seem effective.

We've seen online experimenters try this and have it work really well, even in just cold rather than icy water, and even without sticking to a specific time frame for submersion. Some even cut the onion in half to allow the cold water to penetrate the inner layers, which seems like a good strategy to use. Since soaking for 30 minutes in cold or icy water gives it the best chance of working rather than shorter times, this is another method that may require a little pre-planning.

While we're talking about the idea of using water to prevent crying while cutting onions, we want to explore the hack for cutting them under water. This is one of several hacks on our list that attempt to prevent the tear-causing chemicals from making it to your eyes in the first place by having them release into the water instead.

Yes, we realize that the logistics of this method may be a little tricky. There are several ways that you could go about it. One way is to position your cutting board in a way that would allow you to cut your onions under running water in a clean sink. Another option is to cut the onion inside a bowl of water. Granted, you may want to position a flexible plastic cutting board inside the bowl to avoid dulling your knife or marring the surface of the bowl. You could also try a deep casserole dish or tray, which may more easily hold a small cutting board.

We like the idea of soaking the onions in water first and then doing the whole cutting process under water with a sharp knife, too. That way, you're slowing down the chemical defense mechanism of the onion with ice water, doing it more quickly and safely with a sharp knife, and using the water to contain the chemicals rather than having them release out into the air to eventually get in your eyes.

There have been a lot of people on social media demonstrating and swearing by the idea of using a nearby damp towel to prevent crying while cutting an onion. We're not sure exactly how it works, but the idea seems to be for the wet cloth to perhaps absorb some of the defensive chemicals before they can get to your eyes.

Those who have tried it report putting a wet dishcloth or paper towel near the cutting board. Meanwhile, others actually put a crumpled-up, wet paper towel on the cutting board while cutting to get it as close to the onion as possible. Some have even tried putting the wet paper towel down on the surface of the cutting board and cutting directly on top of the wet paper towel, which should absorb some of the volatile chemicals. While many people swear by this method and have had it be the first method that really worked for them to have no tears while cutting onions, others have had less success.

Some people on social media who have tried keeping a damp towel nearby while cutting their onions have also used the damp cloth to cover the onions until they're ready to use. This hack may help in the same way that submerging onions in water before cutting helps. So, why not try using the same paper towel you plan to eventually cut your onions on to cover your onions before you start cutting them?

An interesting onion-cutting hack you might want to try is using a fan to blow the chemicals trying to reach your eyes away from you. Granted, placement is key when it comes to getting this fan hack to work.

Whether you're using a small tabletop fan or a taller portable fan, the main goal here is to push the chemicals away from your face. So, you're going to want to place the fan behind the onions if possible, with the air moving away from your face. Thus, it's important to consider how the fan is angled, whether you are able to adjust it, or just need to position it creatively. People online for whom this method didn't work weren't able to find a good angle to keep the air from blowing into their faces. So, this hack will probably work best in a larger kitchen with good ventilation, with a fan you can get angled right, and with a fan that is strong enough to push the chemicals away. Some people on social media have also reported that cutting their onions underneath their stove's vent hood with the fan on has helped tremendously, as it sucks the air up and out of your kitchen.

An unfortunate negative of this method is that if you start with unpeeled onions, it's going to blow the onion peels across the room. So, expect to have to clean up a mess unless you start without peels.

While thinking about how to divert the chemical-laced air from your face, we wanted to mention the hack of lighting a candle while onion cutting. Having a candle burning constantly nearby while you're cutting onions not only can help the room smell like something other than onions, but it also moves the oniony air away from your eyes.

While you might initially think that it's a chemical reaction in the air causing your eyes not to burn when a candle is lit near an onion, it turns out that this hack has a little in common with the fan trick since both are about moving chemical-laden air away from your eyes. Since hot air rises, as the flame of the candle heats up the air around it, that air moves upward. Thus, the warm air near a candle funnels the air up and away from both your onion and your eyes.

Judging from the varying results from this method, you'll want to experiment with the size and placement of the candle, but it makes sense for the candle to be extremely close to (or on) your chopping board and not directly in front of your eyes. We've seen social media demonstrations indicating that a candle as small as a tea light can work. And some people on social media have indicated that they even have good luck stopping or lessening their tears with a candle if they get one out in the middle of the cutting process.

There is only one type of chemical we found that might help slow down the chemical reaction that causes tears from cutting onions, and that's acid. Your eyes only water when the chemicals in the onion are in a higher pH range, which is why adding acid to your knife or cutting board can help.

So, next time you're cutting onions, slice a lemon or lime along with it so there's acid on your knife. Or you can cover your cutting board with vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice. However, remember that the important thing is for the cut part of the onion to make good contact with the acid you decide to use. So, if you're adding the acid to your knife, you'll need to reapply often since it will be transferring from the knife to the onion. The difference between the experiments we saw online where it did and didn't work seems to be about just how much acid transferred to the onion. In experiments where every slice of onion got some acid, this hack seems to work pretty well. On the other hand, experimenters who only applied acid to their knife for a few cuts ended up with lots of tears. So, if you're going to use the acid method, it might be better for a dish where you're already planning to use acid with, like a pico de gallo recipe that already has lime and onions.

One of the ways to prevent tears when chopping onions is to make a conscious effort to breathe through your mouth instead of your nose the whole time. The reason that breathing through your mouth rather than your nose matters is your nose and tear ducts are directly connected.

The idea behind breathing through your mouth instead of your nose is that the more of the syn-propanethial-S-oxide that ends up in your eyes, the more you'll cry. So, you want to eliminate the nose as a pathway for the chemical to travel to your eyes. If you're really serious about not breathing through your nose, you could try a nose clip, like people use to prevent breathing through their nose while swimming. This mouth-breathing technique (and a possible nose clip) might be a good option to combine with wearing goggles. That way, you're preventing the chemical from entering your eyes in two different ways: by blocking entry to both your eyes and nasal passages.

If you're worried you're going to forget to breathe through your mouth, just stick your tongue out while you're doing the mouth-breathing. We find it almost impossible to breathe through our nose with our tongue out, so this might be the key to pulling off this hack. Granted, panting like a dog while slicing and dicing might look silly, but if it works for you, it works.

A method that goes hand-in-hand with breathing through your mouth is the gum chewing hack for cutting onions. If you have difficulty remembering to breathe through your mouth while cutting, then chewing gum might help.

Now, when you chew gum for this hack, you're going to want to do the open-mouthed type of gum chewing. If you don't look like a cow chewing its cud or like the worst example of why your teacher wouldn't let you chew gum in class, then you're probably doing it wrong. With open-mouthed gum chewing, you're ideally going to breathe more through your mouth than your nose, pulling the volatile onion chemicals into your mouth rather than into your nasal passages, which connect to your tear ducts.

Those who have tried this method in online experiments and social media tend to find that it works. For one thing, it makes you think more about the way you're breathing than you might if you're just focusing on breathing through your mouth alone. Granted, if you're not one who can walk and chew gum at the same time, this might not be the best option since you're going to have to breathe through your mouth, use a knife, and chew gum at the same time. But it does look far less silly than sticking your tongue out to help you breathe through your mouth.

Yes, it looks absolutely ridiculous to hold a slice of bread in your mouth while chopping onions, but lots of people swear by the bread hack for preventing a cryfest. In fact, you're more likely to start a laughfest if anyone catches you with the bread in your mouth, but at least you won't be crying.

If you've paid attention so far to what causes you to cry while cutting onions, you'll realize that holding a slice of bread in your mouth might not be the worst idea. For one thing, it forms a shield between the onion and your eyes, which should be helpful in preventing all the volatile chemicals from reaching them. Plus, it may force you to breathe through your mouth, with the bread absorbing some of the chemicals. Another version of this hack is putting a wooden spoon in your mouth for the same reasons.

This hack has worked surprisingly well for most people we've seen try in online experiments and social media. If you want to try it, a little piece probably isn't going to help a lot. You likely need a piece with plenty of surface area and one that's not too dry so that it has the best chance of absorbing chemicals and shielding your eyes. Whether you use this hack alone or combine it with some of the other tricks on our list, it might work far better than you first thought.